Scholarship FAQsA: The online application will be available in early January; with a deadline in February (date TBA). For new applicants, the online application usually takes 30 to 60 minutes to complete and requires a brief personal statement, which can be the essay from your Common Application. The application also requires two letters of recommendation and your high school transcript, which the Foundation can obtain directly from your school if you attend an Arlington public high school. The Student Aid Report from the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) is required only for financial need-based scholarships; submission of SAT/ACT score reports is optional but encouraged.
A: The Foundation will be collecting the transcript from all Arlington public high schools directly and students do not need to submit them. If you attend a school that is not an Arlington public school, then you do need to send in your official transcript.
A: No; you may submit a photocopy of your official report or a printout of your online score report.
A: No. Some of our scholarships are for Arlington public high school seniors only and some are for Arlington residents only. Apply for a scholarship and the Foundation will match you to the ones for which you qualify.
A: For questions regarding the FAFSA, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) or 1-319-337-5665. Please note that the Foundation requires the “Expected Family Contribution” amount from the FASFA. If your family’s taxes are not final when you submit your FAFSA, you will receive a preliminary “Expected Family Contribution” amount that can be submitted to the Foundation.
A: Please keep in mind that thousands of students applying to college use this online application system, so your common username may not be available. Try adding a number to your username. Be sure to write down your username and password for use anytime you return to edit your application.
A: You may still submit an application and be considered for all of our non-financial need-based scholarships. In addition, there may be other scholarship programs to which you can apply; contact your school’s counselor for more information. Websites like FastWeb and FinAid are good search engines for scholarships of all types.
AIf you are a student at an Arlington public school you can submit the forms to your guidance counselor or to the Arlington Community Foundation at 818 N. Quincy Street, Suite 103, Arlington, VA 22203. Students at schools outside of Arlington County must submit the supplemental forms via mail to the address above.
A: We anticipate notifying selected applicants of their scholarship match and amounts by the middle of April to allow time for this offer to be incorporated into college acceptance plans. There will be an evening reception for all recipients at the beginning of June. Checks are mailed directly to universities and colleges in July.